Boarding kennels are like daycares. They provide a valuable service but are not all created equally. Some daycares and dog boarding facilities can be breeding grounds for disease when the proper precautions are not taken. A kennel cough is one such infection that can be a real problem for kennels, and not just because their customers have to deal with it, but because it creates this false idea that dogs can only get it from kennels. Many kennel owners prefer calling this canine infectious tracheobronchitis or bordetella to work on eliminating this negative connotation for kennels since dogs can pick this illness up anywhere they come into contact with other dogs.
The good news is that this illness typically is not too serious of a health condition. Owners may feel horrible over the sound of the cough accompanying this disease, but for most dogs, this takes about a few weeks to clear up. Dogs that bark often may get an infection that requires a prescription for antibiotics as they irritate their airways because of the excessive yapping. Your vet is a good source of information as they may decide that your pooch only needs rest and a cough medicine that’s available over-the-counter rather than a more expensive prescription.
The best way that kennels can work to keep canine infectious tracheobronchitis is by requiring all dogs that come in have proof of the vaccine that’s given to prevent this infection. As with all vaccines, it’s not a hundred percent effective in eliminating this disease, but this can help to reduce the number of cases that occur at the kennel.